Spring Clanging

As a self-identified "Barbarian clawing at the walls of Western Civilization" I naturally am fully supportive of Piracy and Pilfering. Duh. However, that doesn't mean I don't think KAPITALIZM can be a uesful tool here and there. But honestly, most of the bands getting bummed out over the illegal availability of their music need to sack the fuck up and make better music. If anything the whole internet has re-introduced a realness or sincerity to an industry(when did music become industry?)that was lacking both. With music being so available, whenever you buy some it means a whole lot more. Nowadays I buy music as a sign of respect, and to align myself with things that I feel are important. Yeah it's a bummer that your shit could get leaked the weekend before and you can see you record sales disappear-BUT! It should make musicians feel all the more stoked when those same people STILL buy their record. Anyways that's the way I see it.

I've gotten a whooole lottta music the free-way, but this year I've tried to get back on my vinyl game, and I will directly attribute that to the kind of exposure the internet can offer.



My pick for SINGLE OF THE YEAR. Just that perfect nexus of shit that people nowadays wanna hear(i.e Twee-ish, jangly, Three-part harmonies.....yaddayaddayadda). Myself definitely included. PLUS you've got a Roky Erickson B-side. That is ON-POINT!!! I guess this is a fairly hip record, butt fuck it. Captured Tracks is one solid ass label.



Seeing Ian Svenonious in the flesh was definitely a highlight in my career as a punk. This record is so on-point and relevant, and seeing these songs live was tight. I had to wonder what people thought of it who didn't know what to expect. Preaching about reparations and spilling the beans on Government orchestrated assassinations can really go either way as far a crowd receptiveness. Chain and the Gang pulled it off, good for them and you too. Down With The Liberty



I must give props to The Holland Project for setting up some righteous ass shows so far this year. I can foresee Rainshadow being a very cool and important part of Reno. If my teachers taught skateboarding and sang for hardcore bands, and I could go watch the latest Captured Tracks artist in the front room of my high school, I just might've stuck around for all four years....not likely, but it wouldn't have hurt. But anyways Grass Widow was off the richter, you should probably already know....



These dudes opened up for Chain and The Gang, I didn't see the whole set but what I saw really impressed me. I never saw them before so I can't say for sure, but the guitarist from Mika Miko totally made them more interesting.



RAH! RAH! This is some super stoney shit. Reverb-drenched sassy, loosey-goosey funky ass soul typed chit. Downloaded this last year, and when I went vinyl-hunting in the bay this February this was one of my most sought. Super stoked I got it too.....the best bars would have dj's who played this and kept the lights down low. Anyone looking to hire?



I really wanted to hate on this band. But I can't. They are fucking rad, and every move they made last year they continued on ruling. At first I thought that they were a fluke until this EP came out, and they proved they had some depth. Their live performance floating around the internet kind of solidified their goodness for me. But that song Higher than the Stars fucking does it for me, and especially the Saint Etienne remix, makes me wish people did as many Quaaludes as they say they they did back in the day...



Now if only my Best Coast seven inch would arrive, and all these assholes would stop picking up five million copies and selling them on ebay for a hundred times the cover price. ARGH!!!

More Francis Harold

Here's a full length from these SoCal locs. Loud. Abrasive. Cacophonous. Ya know you want it.
Who Said These Were Happy Times?

Myspace

Making Fear Reality

This band is one of my favorite finds of the year. They contacted me earlier this summer about a show, and within 30 seconds of checking 'em out I knew that I was in for a treat. It was really one of the only shows that I've booked this year and was actually stoked to see. In my opinion THIS is American black metal. That's just me though. Anyways what you have here is extremely abrasive loud rock n roll. Simple as that. They put on a great show, and are great dudes too. Here's a sevey...


Holla, Graham

Myspace

Boil, Boil, Royal and Noble

Hailing from my home burg of Reno, Nv. Royal Noble is a sometimes three-piece that is sometimes active. As is the case with the majority of bands from Reno, shit always kind of fizzles out before they can get a foot hold nationally, or even regionally for that matter. But you better believe this band kept the basements warm for a good while. This is one of a few demos, I believe it's the first. But don't quote me, it is nine concise power-pop ditties revolving around themes of love and, well mostly just love. People might classify this as lo-fi, but that's just because it's recorded on minimal equipment with minimal polish. This isn't that aesthetic lo-fi, which mostly just means they buried a sub-par song under fuzz and white-noise, it's really just lo-fi out of necessity; no big studios or big money in the Biggest Little City. If you needed to compare them to something I would say somewhere between The Replacements and Daniel Johnston, but that's a pretty lazy description.



Demo

1 Cars
2 Don't You Change
3 In Your Bed
4 Watch The Road
5 Travellin'
6 Achey Bones
7 With Bells On
8 Pulse
9 Im Gonna Kill You

Pick it up

Myspace

Hands Up If You Feel You're The Only One

The Only Ones fall into that weird gap between over-done arena rock, and stipped down power-pop. A pleasant oddity in the evolution of rock during the 70's. This is the best of both worlds; you have professionalism, and great songwriting coupled with the grittiness and urgency that were missing from bands like Blue Oyster Cult or Kansas. I am a fan of the guitar solo and they deliver the goods, but it isn't always segued by some dramatic synth/acoustic guitar bridge or whatever. Plus the lead singer has one of those voices that immediately strikes a chord, kinda like Johnathan Richman or Daniel Johnston. It's just a very individual voice, he can't hit all the notes, but he can convey emotion. They are one of those bands that could have only happened during the 70's, a band at a musical, and stylistic cross-roads.

Git It

Originally found on this blog.